No More Blackouts From April 1, Vows Power Minister

Consumers will get uninterrupted power supply from April 1 and building blocks for this are all in place, according to power minister RK Singh. From this ‘zero date’, state distribution companies (discoms) cannot resort to wilful blackouts to avoid buying power. If they do, they will invite stiff penalty from state regulators, who will also tally area demand with PPAs (power purchase agreements) to see whether the utilities have lined up adequate supplies.Only blackouts due to technical issues or natural calamities will be exempted from penalties.

“Electricity is as important as breathing. Everything now runs on power. You shut off electricity, you are putting lives at risk because ICUs, lifts, transportation services and continuous manufacturing process industries are running on it. People are doing away with generators. That’s what we want. Electricity is an essential commodity. You (discoms) can’t say, can’t say, like, the electricity cost has shot up so we will not buy power but resort to load-shedding. I say improve efficiency and assure 24X7 supply,” Singh said.